Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Weave a grass Christmas tree
- 23 December 2020
- click to send Christine a smile
Start the armature by interweaving a hollow pointy bit.
Open weave a small wreath shape from wire. The open part is so that you can secure the grass as you weave it in.
If you are unsure about weaving a wreath see the Tutorial below.
Open weave a second wire wreath, slightly bigger than the first.
And weave another wreath larger than the previous.
Add a bit of artificial snow to a few twigs. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions. Measure and cut three support twigs. Set aside any frosted side branches to decorate the tree with.
Newsletter subscribers: I have a great tip for you this week! The height of my table top tree is not just random. And it makes all the difference in the longevity of the design. Each week I highlight something extra for you to learn and us to discuss so I continue the conversation in a notification email that I send out to subscribers the moment the design is ready. You can subscribe anytime and your next email will arrive on Wednesday morning.
Cut three support twigs.
Why three? There's a reason for that! See the Tutorial below for more details on why I usually add three legs to my armatures.
Stand the support twigs upright in the largest wreath...
Slip the smaller wreath over the twigs. Let it drop to where it naturally catch.
Slip the next wreath over the twigs and let it slide down to where it catches.
Slip the pointy bit over the twigs and secure it with hot glue.
Secure the wreaths to the twigs with a small drop of glue.
Set the armature in a display container.
Start to interweave the grass around the armature.
Interweave the tree letting the grass ends dangle freely.
Also see the newsletter tip... this is what I mean.
Slowly build up the tree armature...
... To cover the entire shape.
Letting the grass tips dangle freely.
Curl the grass tips. There are two ways to do this. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to make the ringlet curls. And book readers turn to page 288 where I show you how to manipulate grass and make the tighter curls.
Carefully curl the grass into whichever direction you want the curl to fall.
Glue in the snow covered side branches...
Cover the stem of the wired pom poms with florist tape.
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to make wired pom poms.
Add a few crystal stars to the design.
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to add the crystals.
And glue in the pom pom wire so that it extends out and you can bend it into the exact position you want it in.
Fill the container with water so that the grass remains hydrated.
And float the tiniest bit of artificial snow on the water surface. Decorative? Absolutely but it also makes it really easy to see when you need to top up the water.
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Tutorials
For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling...
When in doubt, always give your armature three legs. Two legs are simply not enough and four legs will wobble if it is even slightly off balance.
Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Craft an ethereal Christmas tree from Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and sparkling snow flake crystals.
The delicate Kalanchoe flowers last surprisingly well without a water source and is ideal for glue techniques
Artificial snow covered cardboard mittens to add to a winter themed design.
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